As I sit here waiting for the 108 MB of Microsoft updates to download and install I thought I’d share a few of my gripes.
Gripe # 1 -
Since I have Microsoft automatic updates installed, why do I have to go to their site to discover I need 2 large downloads?! And why are the downloads so big that it will tie up my computer for several hours even though I have a high-speed connection? I started more than an hour ago and have less than 1/5 of it downloaded!
Don’t these people know we have other things to do besides checking for “bug” fixes and waiting for massive fixes to download?
Sure, I can do a few other things like write this blog post and some household chores. But this is my work time when I am the most productive at working on my sites and my online business!
And to think I started this update thing all because I needed the newest version of winzip – the unzip utility given to me as an XP user – so I could unzip a package I may want to use and share with others. I don’t even know if what I’m downloading will provide it!!! If it doesn’t does that mean I have to buy it? If I do, that will be another grip to add to this list.
Also, if I get the new winzip, will that mean I won’t be able to zip files in the old format so that others who don’t have the latest and greatest winzip can unzip them?
Gripe # 2 -
While waiting for this download to finish I had a discussion with my daughter about how many are now not revealing the price of items unless you either put them in your online shopping cart or click the “buy” button. According to her, even some of the larger online merchants are now indicating that you will get a sale price by putting the regular price in a different color. However, they don’t tell you what the sale price is unless you put the item in your shopping cart and then check it. I know I’ve been to sites where the price was not revealed unless you clicked the “buy” button.
Maybe I’m just too frugal or too poor for this type of marketing because I usually won’t buy something unless you tell me how much it costs. I say usually because I think I once bought something where I had to lock in my price before the price was revealed. And then the price was really good and I wanted the product so I did get it. However, this method only worked on me once since the next couple of times it was used, the price was more than I was willing to spend so I didn’t get the product. And now… I don’t even lock in my price to find out.
As for those sales pages that don’t mention a price, oh I check them occasionally even when I don’t want the product because I’m curious. However I don’t plan on buying when I click and so far I haven’t because, as expected, the price was always more than I was willing to pay.
Call me a penny pincher but I work hard for my money and am not looking to buy things I can’t afford. They say “curiosity killed the cat.” I say it can kill your budget if you aren’t cautious.
And those using this method of hiding the price think only those who really want the product find out how much it costs and they’re hoping you’ll buy just because you’re already at the check-out page when you see the price. Hey, would you buy a CD you wanted if you found out at the register it didn’t cost $7, $15 or even $19 but actually cost $47?
This type of marketing doesn’t work well off-line and shouldn’t work on-line either.
Gripe # 3 -
Recently I’ve seen a couple of TV commercials that make me mad enough to never buy the products and they are:
- A new antioxidant drink made by a very large and well know company that has a commercial showing a person who has just drunk the stuff jump off the roof of a 24 story building. The primary colors shown on the screen as the man jumps are pale blue, pale gray and white and they blend so well you can hardly tell there are different colors. The warning, “Do Not Attempt This” is shown in white text on the pale background and you’ve got to be looking for it to see it.Now I would hope adults would know better than to jump off a 24 story building and think a thin layer of bubble wrap would protect them from getting hurt. However, there are a lot of kids watching that commercial who can’t read, won’t see the warning and don’t have the common sense to not try such a stupid stunt. Even if they don’t jump from the 24th floor, jumping out of their 2nd story bedroom window or off the garage roof could still cause them some serious injury or worse.Since people like to sue as McDonalds learned when a woman sued them a few years ago for burning her mouth when she drank some of their hot coffee. I am thinking this company must think they are protected by their warning message. However, if someone took them to court because of a child’s injury and I was on the jury, that hard to see warning message wouldn’t do it.While I don’t mind most stupid and silly advertising, stupid, silly and dangerous advertising will not get me to buy a product.
- As we all know there are standard disclaimers say that the results are not typical for just about every weight loss ad on TV. However, there’s 1 that has so many before and after pictures being shown so fast, you may miss the disclaimer. I know I did the first 10 or so times I viewed it. When I finally did notice and read it, I had to see the commercial twice to get through the complete disclaimer. It seems not only are the results not typical but that people shown in the before and after pictures had all been on some other “previous weight loss system.” If the information about the other system is shown, I haven’t found it yet.Since I would want the results shown and everyone who got my desired results had used some other system before this 1, I would be more interested in the “previous weight loss system” than the 1 being advertised.
Well, it’s been 4 hours since I started the download and it’s still not finished. I’ve taken a shower, done some laundry, gone to the store, had some lunch, played with our dogs and finished this post and I’m still waiting to get some business work done. I was going to be busy uploading my own files and working on a web page while I waited for my uploads to finish. But since I can’t unzip the file needed for the web page I started the update and now I am afraid to upload my files while it’s in progress. I also wanted to install an update for a tool I use to write articles but can’t. I wouldn’t mind using the tool to write an article or 2 and submit them to some directories but since the tool does automatic submissions, I’m afraid to do that too.
Since only 1 of the 2 updates is finished and it will be at least another hour before I really use my computer I guess this day is shot. The kids will be home about the same time it finishes so I’ll have to wait and do my work tonight after everyone has gone to bed.
Too bad my automatic updates didn’t happen like they were suppose to. Then it would have happened when I had planned to be away from my computer and not wasting the best working time of my day.
To Your Success,
Susan
